Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They are the four basic operations of math and whether they realize it or not, they’re concepts kids end up using every day.
Maybe they’re adding up the costs of treats they picked on the cafeteria line and subtracting the total from the amount of money in their account. Or maybe they’ve got a pile of cookies, and they’re dividing the number of cookies in the pile by the amount of friends gathered around asking for one.
Either way, teaching kids math operations is part of giving our students foundational number fluency, and after slowly working up from addition to subtraction then multiplication and division, it’s important to put it all together.
Mixed Operations Math Games
That’s where mixed operations games come in! These four operations math games challenge students to solve problems involving whole numbers using the different skills they’ve developed.
Can You Make …?
This great bell-ringer activity can be written on your whiteboard in the morning for students to practice with the four operations.
Write “Can You Make” on the board along with a two-digit number. Below, add the word “using” and provide students with 5 or 6 different numbers (including the 2 digits).
For example:
Can You Make 54 Using 5, 4, 6, 9, 8, 2?
6 x 9 = 54
46 + 8 = 54
55 + 8 – 9 = 54
98 ÷ 2 + 5 = 54
Students can write their equations on their individual whiteboards or on a piece of paper. Challenge your students to create as many combinations as possible — the student who creates the most is the “winner”!
You can also use Number Talk Cards for this!
[resource:2985458]20 Questions Math Game
In this twist on the popular game Headbandz, kids create a hat with a space that will fit two playing cards. (Use a sentence strip and glue a rectangle shape to the front. You will need tape or some mounting putty so that the cards can easily be changed.) The student who is wearing the hat in their math center gets 20 questions to guess the value of the card on their hat — and their questions should use the different operations!
How to play
- Remove all the face cards from a deck of cards except the ace – this will be number 1.
- The student picks two cards without looking and places them on their guessing hat.
- The student then has 20 questions to work out what number they have, and they need to use operations — such as, is it divisible by 9? If I add 3 + 10, will the answer be higher or lower than my card, etc.
- The questions they ask can only be answered by the rest of the group with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Roll It Operations Game
Grab your dice for this mixed operations board game.
How to play:
Students roll two dice.
They add, subtract, multiply, and/or divide the two numbers shown on the dice. If the answer appears in the grid, they cover it with a counter.
Each player is only allowed to cover one space on their turn.
The first player to cover four numbers in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), wins!
Order Of Operations Game
Practice PEMDAS with another fun dice math operations game! In this order of operations game, students roll a die for each box in an equation. Then, they choose carefully where to place each number and solve the equation using order of operations.
There are six different activity mats, and the game can be differentiated with a 10- or 12-sided die for endless gameplay in your math centers!
Check out our full range of operations resources for teachers for more puzzles, games, and engaging worksheets!
Banner image via shutterstock/flamingo images
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